The 6 Best Hair Straighteners, Following A Year Of Extensive Testing
Straightening your hair takes time and patience, but a high-quality flat iron can speed up the process, delivering smooth results without frying your strands. After extensively testing factors such as maneuverability, performance and temperature range—and re-evaluating over the course of a year—I landed on the six best hair straighteners. I chose the T3 SinglePass StyleMax as the top pick overall for its excellent straightening and smoothing power.
I tested over a dozen flat irons over the course of a year to find the very best hair straighteners … [+]
Here is a full list of the winners, according to my testing:
Meanwhile, the Chi Original Ceramic Hairstyling Iron is my best value pick because of its no-nonsense performance, versatility and ability to create sleek, silky hair with fewer passes. (You can read my in-depth review of the Chi straightener here.) If you need a cordless model for on-the-go styling and don’t mind spending more, I recommend the Dyson Corrale. Below are the best hair straightener winners from my long-term testing, along with a list of the 14 other models I tried that didn’t make the final cut.
T3’s SinglePass StyleMax has all the features you’d expect from a luxury hair tool at a more palatable price point. It stands out for offering heat customization, which helps you achieve the best setting whether you have thin, fragile hair, a medium-thick wavy mane or tight coils. You can choose from nine manual settings from 260 to 410 degrees Fahrenheit, or opt for three preprogrammed ones—catering to thin, medium or thick hair—that are a foolproof way to keep you from unintentionally frying strands.
This T3 hair straightener works quickly: It’s engineered to give even heat across the plate to reshape hair uniformly as you glide each section through the iron. Ultimately, I found that I could achieve the look I wanted in fewer passes, which helped me avoid exposing my strands to unnecessary excess heat. Generally, I only needed one pass per section, although some more stubborn areas—like the nape of my neck or around my face—required two.
The T3 tool has an exceptionally smooth glide and doesn’t snag. And I loved that it made my hair shiny and tamed frizzy flyaways. The unique shape of the rounded-edge barrel allowed me to create straight styles, loose waves or curls easily, without creases. Other nice-to-have features include a 360-degree swivel cord and universal voltage to allow for international use. The one negative I found with the SinglePass StyleMax, however, is that inputting your hair type or manually selecting a heat setting isn’t immediately intuitive and requires a small learning curve.
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This Chi flat iron doesn’t have multiple temperature options, but it does have an under 30-second heat-up time and extra-long (over 10 feet) swivel cord that gives you extra reach while styling. Most importantly, it has gloriously smooth ceramic plates with beveled edges that make it a nimble tool for creating everything from pin-straight styles to polished curves at the ends of hair.
The 1-inch plates on this iron make it versatile enough to work well for short or medium-length hair, or on bangs or fine baby hair around the face. “A 1-inch plate allows for a grip tight to the root regardless of hair length,” says Nicole Henry, senior colorist at Warren Tricomi Salon. However, the Chi may be slightly more time-consuming to use on longer hair between the single set temperature and the face that the plates cover less surface area.
It does features ionic, far infrared technology for smoothing hair and combating frizz. “Infrared heat technology will heat your hair from the inside out, helping the hair retain moisture and shine with fewer split ends,” says Erin Bryant, master stylist and creative director of Whip Salon. While it has a two-year warranty, many users comment that it lasts far longer, which is not the case with many ceramic irons because of their generally shorter shelf life than more durable titanium ones.
The Chi Original Ceramic Hairstyling Iron has an under-30-second heat-up time and an extra-long … [+]
When I first put this straightener to work, it heated up in just 20 seconds. I sectioned my hair into one-inch pieces, glided the iron through my hair from root to tip, and it went from frizzy to smooth and polished. Despite having just one heat setting of 392 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature was enough to reshape my hair in just one pass, although I did have to do two passes on the layers around my face. This was refreshing because I get a little anxious about heat damage when I have to go over the same section several times.
Over a year later and this Chi straightener remains a powerful, easy-to-maneuver workhorse. The single heat setting easily reshapes my hair from unkempt to sleek and silky. And it still works quickly, with only one to two passes needed per section. I use this straightener when I want pin-straight, smooth hair; I reach for it a couple of times a month. Its extra-long swivel cord and overall compact size make it easy to straighten hair in hard-to-reach places like the crown of my head or at the nape of my neck. I’ve also noticed how many hairstylists I’ve seen opt to use Chi models, specifically this one. When I ask them why, they say they like its no-nonsense speed and versatility for creating everything from straight styles to flatiron waves.
One downside of this model is that while most of Chi’s other irons have an automatic shut-off, this one does not. I also don’t love that this iron doesn’t have a sound notification or digital display telling me when it’s reached its single heat setting. Also, over time the hinge of this iron seems to stick a bit more, making it a little more difficult to squeeze closed. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it does cause my wrist to fatigue slightly faster than when using other hair tools.
The GHD Platinum Plus Styler is like a luxury automobile: It looks and feels expensive, effortlessly does its job and will cause people to stare—at your gorgeous hair. The sleek white barrel grip feels comfortable and satisfying in the hand, and a wishbone-style hinge is one of the iron’s trademarks. Because of its V-shaped, continuous barrel design, it doesn’t have a hinge with a gap that could pinch the palm of your hand as happens with some other models. It not only aligns the plates and gives you precise styling control, but also makes it easy to clamp the tool close to your roots.
The straightener is forgiving on the wrist and is more lightweight compared to most of the other models I tested. It has a well-functioning swivel cord, and it comes with a nice silicone sleeve to keep the iron closed before use, for easy transport and to protect fingers during cool down. Plus, the 30-minute automatic shut-off gives peace of mind.
The GHD Platinum Plus Styler feels comfortable and satisfying in the hand, and a wishbone-style … [+]
In testing, it only took 20 seconds for the iron to beep and indicate it was ready. To use this tool, you press the button on the inside of the smart styler, and it heats to 365 degrees. “This standard setting is the ‘sweet spot’ where the heat can break down the hair just enough to mold it into shape and fight frizz without burning it or causing damage,” says Henry. “Maintaining this slightly lower temperature ensures your hair will be healthy, straight and tremendously shiny.” While straightening, predictive sensors in the plates monitor heat 250 times per second to make sure the iron doesn’t overheat and potentially singe your hair.
This gadget worked like a pro; it has a super smooth glide with zero snag, and the slightly longer plate allowed me to include a bit more hair in the iron per pass without compromising the effectiveness, which ultimately saved me time. The floating plates are more versatile than the standard, static plates on many other irons—they compress just the right amount of hair to create smooth and straight styles or a subtle curve at my ends. This model’s beveled edges also allowed me to masterfully create waves or curls.
After using the GHD Platinum Plus Styler consistently for over a year, I still appreciate the same features I raved about from day one. The fast, even heat-up time still takes just 20 seconds, which is critical when I’m trying to go for a sleek, pulled-together look while running late. The flexible, coated ceramic plates never snag and always leave my hair looking shiny.
My favorite thing about this straightener is that it makes hair sleek, but the flexible plates allow me to maintain a slight bend in my hair so it still has body. Even better, using it a few times a week doesn’t stress me out because it operates on a safer-for-hair 365-degree setting, which is less likely to cause hair damage than higher-temperature titanium irons. And despite being tossed into my overflowing hair tools drawer alongside a variety of curling irons, a blow dryer, brushes and clips, it still looks brand new, functioning just as well as the day I took it out of the box.
This mini is the straightener you want to stash in your bag for long weekends, trips abroad or just to use at the gym. It heats up in just over 60 seconds to a single heat setting of 380 degrees, which is hot enough to shape hair into super straight strands or perfectly imperfect flatiron waves.
I found this compact model to be lightweight, comfortable to hold and easy to maneuver. Its combination of floating plates and rounded barrel helped serve two purposes: avoiding dreaded crimp marks when trying to style hair close to the root and doubling an adept straightener and curling iron alternative. It’s great for touching up second-day hair, especially face-framing pieces or flyways at the roots. It also comes with a heat-resistant travel pouch, and has a 360-degree swivel cord, universal voltage and auto shut-off after 30 minutes.
I noticed the glide of this iron wasn’t as smooth as the ceramic straighteners I tested. And while the compact size makes it ideal for shorter lengths, the small size of the plates meant that it took a while to cover ground on my long, thick hair. But for the space-saving size, effectiveness and price, it can’t be beat.
Cordless straighteners are ideal for those who want the convenience of not being bound to an outlet or getting wrapped in long, fussy cord while styling. While some cordless straighteners have limited battery lives—for instance, the GHD Unplugged Styler offers only 20 minutes of styling on one charge—the Dyson Corrale offers 30 minutes of unencumbered styling, which can be helpful if you have longer, thicker hair.
Another unique feature of this straightener is its flexing manganese copper alloy plates, which are made up of micro-hinged segments that grab hair and off